Finding My Light
by oathkeeper-girl
Summary: Seven year old Naminé goes on an adventure to find the light, her light, after her parents are consumed by darkness. Can she save them and overcome the darkness?
1. Chapter 1

_It's hard to wake up, when the shades have been pulled shut. __This house is haunted It's so pathetic It makes no sense at all. I'm ripe with things to say, the words rot and fall away. If a stupid poem could fix this home, I'd read it every day._

She sat in the corner, tears threatening to spill over, her favorite bunny clutched to her chest. Blonde strands caressed her face. No comfort, no solace could reach her in this white room where darkness overwhelmed everything. The light that is her heart diminishes slowly.

She looks up, heart heavy, teeth clenching. They don't seem to understand her fear. She has a fear of falling. Because she knows, in every heart of light, there rests a sliver of darkness. A darkness that can be awakened given the right situation or temptation. She knows, this little girl of eight so wise beyond her years, that she can awaken this darkness. She can let it overcome her. Overwhelm her like every corner of the room. Rather it can take her in its clutches and bury her. But she chooses to fight.

She rises to her feet and doesn't falter. She can feel the power that resides in her heart. The power of darkness and the power of light. The light dances on her fingertips, the darkness on her tongue. Her eyes seem hollow. They are so lifeless and empty, the irises seeming to engulf the pupils. She passes them. Her hand reaches for the knob of the door, but she takes one last long glance back before stepping out. She shuts the dark room away.

_Their anger hurts my ears, been running strong for seven years. Rather than fix the problems, they never solve them, it makes no sense at all. I see them every day. We get along so why can't they? If this is what he wants and this is what she wants, then why is there so much pain?_

They hadn't noticed she'd left. She was so small. She had crept by without a sound. Their attention had been focused on themselves, selfish, so selfish. They failed to see the light in their darkness. The darkness that seeped into their skin. Emanating from their hearts. The stench of it reeked. The little girl had watched as these people had become so easily engulfed by the darkness. Watched, how so easily they gave into it. She could hear it calling out to them, but what could she possibly do? Surely, she alone could not fight the darkness.

_So here's your holiday, hope you enjoy it this time, you gave it all away. It was mine. So when you're dead and gone will you remember this night, twenty years now lost. It's not right._

The little girl, bunny in hand, walked to her room. The white walls blinded her but she smiled. Her world was still light. It wasn't far from her grasp. She pulled out her favorite things in all the world. A sheet of paper and a pencil. She began to draw her fears away. A face stared up at her, bright and full of hope. She continued on, drawing his light. It took the form of a weapon she liked to think could defeat the darkness with a single strike. A key. _The _key.

The key symbolized strength and knowledge, courage and a will. A will to fight. The boy, he was a key too. Like a copy of the one he bore. Filled with strength, courage, knoweledge, and the will. But most importantly, he seemed to radiate an equal if not greater amount of light. The girl stared at him. An invisible force tugged at her heart strings and for some strange reason, she felt as though she knew him. That was enough for her. Enough to make the fragile youth start her own venture for this light.

_So here's your holiday, hope you enjoy it this time, you gave it all away. It was mine. So when you're dead and gone will you remember this night, twenty years now lost. It's not right._

The girl grabbed a small backpack and filled it with paper, pencils, colored pencils, and an object very close to her heart. A Wayfinder.

When she was at least two years younger, her mother told her a tale of sorts. About sailors at sea, an island with a special tree that bears a special fruit, and friendship. She had said that long ago, when sailors were sent out to sea, they would leave their family and friends behind and set out. The families and friends of these men spent their days waiting, waiting for news of when their loved ones would come home. Sometimes, they would find themselves waiting only to hear back that the voyage was a lost cause and they would never see their loved ones again. But that would change when one day, a few of the island children sought out a way to bring their fathers back, safe and unharmed. They took the legend of the Paopu fruit to heart and knew of its great ability to keep the destinies of those who shared it entertwined. So, to pass the days and to keep the faith burning strong, the children began making charms using thalassa shells shaped like the fruit. The children made enough for their families and friends and used them to feel the connection of their loved ones. These charms were unordinary for the power they held was great. The charms kept the sailors safe and almost always brought back the voyagers unharmed. Every family began to carry one even those who had doubted its power in the beginning. Even to this day they are carried by the local islanders.

The little girl would listen to her mother, mesmorized by the tale and when it was over her mother would ask,

"Little Naminé, do you know why the charms worked so well?" And Naminé would shake her head 'no' in response. Her mother would then say, "It was because the children believed so strongly with their light burning so purely in their hearts. That's why." Naminé had never understood what her mother had meant by the 'light'. Now as she looked back on it, she was beginning to think she understood.

It was her most prized possesion, given to her by a local islander of Destiny Islands, the place where the tale took place. The wayfinder was made out of a beautiful blue stone shaped into a star and outlined by silver metal. In the very center, an odd heart shaped stone sat comfortably. She had never given it much thought but was hoping to find out soon enough.

Naminé grabbed her rabbit by its arm and headed to the living room. On the table in the middle of it were two adult passes to Destiny Islands and one child's pass. She picked her own up and stuffed it into her dress's pocket. As she walked out the front door, she whispered a soft goodbye.

The train station wasn't far from where she lived. Its route was easy to get to. But in Twilight Town, all the trams were easy to access. From market central, she walked up the hill. Midday the sight wasn't at all odd. Children played by the station all the time. To Naminé, it was a very new feeling. She felt very independent, and was very courageous for walking alone. She'd never been anywhere without her parents, the people consumed by the darkness.

Along the way, many women whispered amongst themselves about her. She could hear them. They called her cute and pretty, adorable actually. She appreciated their compliments but hadn't really minded them.

When she had finally made her way up the hill, she walked into the station and showed her pass to the ticket attendant.

"That's a pretty far ride for a little girl to be taking all by herself, do your parents know where you are?" Naminé smiled brightly and melted his heart instantly.

"It won't be long, I'm meeting a friend there." He smiled at her and nodded.

"Okay, well just hop on that train right there," he pointed to his left,"it'll take you where you need to go." She smiled and thanked him and went on her way.

XxXxXxXxX

A/N: So originally this was going to be a oneshot, a really long one, but I decided to break it into a few chapters. This is the story of Naminé, and finding her light. 3 Anyways, the song used is Stay Together For The Kids by Blink 182. I thought it fit the situation perfectly. All reviews are appreciated, thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own the song or Kingdom Hearts sadly.


	2. Chapter 2

The train wasn't crowded, pretty empty for a weekday actually. Almost all the locals took the tram common to work and again home. Naminé decided to look at the faces of the few people on the train. Some were familiar faces, most weren't. Out of curiosity she glanced at the ones with sun kissed skin. They had to be Destiny Islands locals. Two teenage girls at the far end of the train caught her attention.

Attached to their bags were the strange charms from the story her mother had told her so many times before. Naminé felt a sudden ache in her heart. She gripped the front of her dress. A metallic _Clink! _brought her attention to its pocket. She pulled out her own charm and held it up to the light of the sun. The little girl smiled with a renewed sense of purpose. The ache dulled down and she put the Wayfinder back in her pocket for safe keeping. She looked back at the girls who happened to be looking back at her. Naminé blushed, silently chastising herself for staring so bluntly. One of the girls walked over to her and bent so they were at eye level.

"Hi, my name's Aqua. I couldn't help but notice your Wayfinder. It's very beautiful," her voice was soft and melodious. Like a princess, Naminé would imagine. She pulled it back out and handed it to the older girl. Aqua inspected it closely. She handed it back. "It looks alot like the one I made for a friend of mine..." Her voice trailed off and her expression looked thoughtful.

"I don't quite remember but, a boy from Destiny Islands- he gave it to me. I'm going to find him." She smiled at Aqua and Aqua smiled back.

"Well, when you find him, tell him he did a great job." Naminé nodded, curious as to what Aqua meant. "You're a very pretty girl, hm?"

"Naminé."

Aqua nodded,"Naminé." Aqua glanced to the other end of the train, opposite of where she and her friend had been standing. Before Naminé had the chance to see what she was looking at Aqua looked back. "I-"

"Aqua, come on, we gotta' go! It's our stop!"

"Coming!" she called back. "I've gotta' go but before I do," she placed her hand over her own heart, then over Naminé's,"know that wherever you go, the light will lead you through the darkest of places. Your heart is strong, Naminé, I can feel it." Naminé stared at her chest, her heart was fluttering, as she listened to Aqua's words. They too, gave her hope. Aqua looked over to the far end of the train. She could sense eyes watching her. Blue met gold for a moment then she looked back down at Naminé and gave her a small, genuine smile. Naminé thought it made her look even more like a princess.

Aqua walked to the end of the train where her friend was waiting. Naminé looked up in time to see Aqua wave before they exited, leaving even fewer people on the train. All the while she was unaware of the golden eyes that watched her every move.

As more and more people exited the train, Naminé grew bored of people watching. Her destination was closer now at least. She looked out the window behind her. The scenery rolled by but the clouds seemed to chase after her. They ducked one behind the other sometimes darkening the sky by covering the sun. She smiled half heartedly. The Sky had always been of particular interest to her. Now, as the sun set, and cast shadows over her it only made her feel more empty. An even more unsettling feeling rippled through her body. She shivered even though the summer sun was just high enough to warm her through the glass.

She looked down at her lap and began to trace the patterns on her dress. It felt so silky under her fingertips. The feel reminded her of a comfortable breeze caressing her face. Where had she felt that breeze again? A sudden cough dragged her from her thoughts. She looked up to see the man with golden eyes, shining as bright as stars, looking down at her. Something about the look of those starlit eyes was, unsettling. It wasn't until he sat down next to her that the right word came to mind. _Menacing. _

Naminé's heart began to beat a bit faster. Through the corners of her eyes she could see that they were the only two left on the train. The train ride was surely almost over. But that thought hadn't comforted her enough to slow her heart rate.

"_Naminé, why must you be so brave? Why must you refuse the power of the darkness?"_

Rather than wonder how this strange man had known her name, or about the darkness, she calmly responded, "If I'm to find my light, I musn't be tempted by the darkness. No matter how weak I feel, no matter how much strength it can offer. The Light, is- so much more powerful." At this, the man raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"_Is that what you believe?"_

_"_Hm. Well, I can just feel it. It lies deep within me, growing...but I've also felt the darkness. It's a small spark, but I can feel it. It resides in the deepest parts of my heart. It's strong but- it never overpowers the light. I can't just give in to the darkness, my light, it's waiting for me to find it."

"_Ah, but young Naminé, you've much to learn. That darkness can grow more powerful, if you just open your heart to it. I can almost feel the power that lies within your heart." _Naminé smiled.

"My power, lies with the Key of light. Don't you see, you've been lead blindly by the darkness and you've put all your strength into it- and only for it to lead you astray," the man's golden eyes began to shine brightly, an evil glaze coating them, and raised his eyebrows,"I'm looking for my light, maybe...maybe I can help you find yours."

_"You are very wise for a child so young, as to be expected from a Child of the Light."_

_"_Child of the Light?" Now Naminé's curiosity got the best of her as a child's curiosity usually does. The man smiled, an expression out of place on his features. It made him look even more menacing.

He brought his hand out in front of himself and unfurled it as he spoke. "_Some of us dream of having that power you hold," _a gold ball of energy formed in his hand and Naminé stared in awe,"_Dream that one day it can help us change the heart's perceptions of what sleeps within it." _He closed his hand around it and it dissipated, flowing into her chest. Naminé gasped. Her lips parted and her eyes squeezed shut. "_I'll help you awaken that power within you, the effect may be...dangerous, maybe not. But don't be afraid Naminé, I'm only awakening the deeper, darker side of your own heart." _He smiled again, the same unfitting smile. Naminé dug her fingernails into the seat cushion and bit her lip. Her head shook softly. A soft moan escaped her lips. Her vision was taken by darkness.

The train had already been empty long before Naminé woke. A sleepy hand reached up and rubbed her eyes. She sat up slowly as her brain started to process what had happened. The man with the strange golden eyes was gone, replaced by more empty space. She looked at her hands and inspected herself carefully. She didn't feel any different at all. The man had spoke of the darkness in her heart revealing itself so why couldn't she see it? Her small hand clutched her chest. Maybe her charm had protected her from the dark man's power.

The conductor of the train looked back at the small girl. She had seemed so concentrated before she had fallen asleep, he couldn't help but smile at her. Of course, he hadn't seen the dark man with the golden eyes.

"Last stop, Destiny Islands!" He called. Naminé looked up and smiled.

When Naminé finally reached her destination, her heart began to swell once more. She looked back at the conductor and waved goodbye to him with a small reassuring smile. She pulled her Wayfinder out of her dress pocket, it seemed to glimmer brighter than before, as she knew it would lead her to the boy with the Key to the light.

A/N: I'm sorry I haven't written anything in so long! Trust me, I have not abandoned any of my stories though! Thank you for reading, and as always reviews, anonymous or not, are welcome.


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